Advancing Science, Advancing Public Health

Scientific conferences, symposia and events provide a platform to share research and exchange perspectives, network and have other important sidebar conversations. However, they can be much more. Scientific events should provide a mechanism to highlight how new discoveries and advancements contribute to broader society, especially to scientists engaged in basic research or ones who lack training or access to outreach venues.

Scientists are interested in why and how things work. Depending on their inclination, they may ask questions about biological systems or be curious about physical dynamics. The scientific method they employ is focused on observation, hypothesis, experimentation and conclusion. This is applied regardless of whether the scientist works in the public sector or the private sector. More importantly their natural curiosity often stems from a sincere interest in advancing or improving humankind and the world.

And yet, generally speaking, scientific meetings (with few exceptions) do not include in their application form a specific call-out for scientists to comment on how their research contributes to the broader society. The ‘application form,’ or the ‘abstract submission form,’ often only focuses on the technical details.

Typically, when scientists submit abstracts for consideration to be invited to present at a scientific event, the evaluation rubric focuses only on the scientific merit, the relevancy of the research to the meeting focus, and the novelty or innovative elements involved. These are all clearly important — but should there be more?

As IAFNS planned our Science Innovation Showcase, we purposefully expanded the ‘standard’ submission form by asking the applying researcher to provide a “Statement on how this science or technology supports or advances public health.” ?

We brought the broader context of the impact of the research front and center into designing our December 14th and 15th event. This move supports our organizational core values and our mission of supporting public health. And, we believe it positions our Science Innovation Showcase in a unique manner – with a focus on science that is readily available to improve lives and advance public health.?

Science events should first focus on advancing knowledge. Yes, quality science as evidenced by supporting data and information is important. Yes, science within the scope of the meeting is important. And, yes, science that is new is also important in deciding if an abstract is selected for presentation. However, adding another metric to the rubric on public benefit and making time for discussing real-world applications and impacts benefits us all.

In today’s hyper-connected world, the absence of dialogue on the positive societal impacts of scientific research can pose problems. Because scientists often present a narrow perspective on their research area, key impacts can be missed by the non-expert audience. This means that the voice of science may be dismissed in other contexts and often where it is needed the most.

At IAFNS, with the Science Innovation Showcase we are modeling this approach with an emphasis on science that matters. Science that can be readily translated for impact and improved decision making for university researchers, industry scientists and government officials. In this way, we seek to celebrate science’s positive social contributions and public benefits. Please join us in celebrating scientific and public health advancements!

Register now for the Science Innovation Showcase on December 14 and 15th!